Visit was part of cross-Canada tour to discuss future of immigration in this country
http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news-story/6767783-immigration-minister-discusses-policies-at-waterloo-roundtable/
By James Jackson
The federal government’s roundtable discussion on the future of Canada’s immigration policies came to the University of Waterloo Thursday (July 14, 2016) to chat with local immigration advocates and groups about ways to improve the process.
Long processing times was one of the main concerns heard by Immigration Minister John McCallum and local MPs, but others worry about the quality of the government website and have a desire for even more immigrants than Canada currently allows each year.
“I think people are concerned about the processing time, the wait times, the website quality, all of these things which we are working to improve,” said McCallum to reporters following the closed-door roundtable discussion.
“Perhaps my single biggest concern is it takes somewhere on the order of two years for a husband and wife to be reunited. That is unacceptably high and we’re working to bring that down.”
“There’s a desire by some for lower skilled, there’s a desire from others for higher skilled, but the general view is we do need more.” Immigration Minister John McCallum, on the desire for more immigrants than the approximately 250,000 Canada permits each year.
McCallum has already conducted similar discussions in Atlantic Canada and was in Mississauga and Brampton earlier this week.
Thursday’s roundtable included representatives from local post-secondary institutes, the University of Guelph, the local YWCA, local school boards and the Muslim Society of Guelph, among others.
The meetings are part of the federal government’s month-long input period that started July 5 and runs to August 5.
The government is asking Canadians for their input to the future of immigration in this country, including:
• How many immigrants should Canada allow in 2017 and beyond?
• Does Canada have the right balance of immigrants?
• How can immigration play a role in supporting economic growth and innovation?
• What modernization techniques should Canada use for processing applications?
For the past decade or so, immigration rates to Canada have hovered around 250,000 per year, but McCallum said he’s looking to bring in more.
“There’s a desire by some for lower skilled, there’s a desire from others for higher skilled, but the general view is we do need more,” he said.
“I am probably the only immigration minister in the world whose major challenge is I can’t bring in refugees fast enough to satisfy the demands of generous Canadians who want to support them.”
Sara Sayyed of the Muslim Society of Guelph was part of the discussion and said it’s time for a review of immigration policies.
“Definitely it’s overdue, and it’s great the ministers are coming down to the communities to get a response and information from us,” she said. “We’ve never been asked ‘what do you need?’ and it’s great to be involved that closely.”
Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger, the minister of small business and tourism, said the consultation is important to “provide us with the feedback we need to make good decisions as the Government of Canada for how the system works for all Canadians.”
McCallum also said he wants to make it easier for international students and tenure-track professors to immigrate to Canada, and tackle what he called “stupid” rules in his department.
“One of the stupidest rules is that they don’t accept tenure-track professors under express entry because it’s not a permanent job, the person might not get tenure, but that is a stupid rule,” he said.
For more information or to provide input on the process, visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website, www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/consultations/nationaldiscussion.asp.
http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news-story/6767783-immigration-minister-discusses-policies-at-waterloo-roundtable/
By James Jackson
The federal government’s roundtable discussion on the future of Canada’s immigration policies came to the University of Waterloo Thursday (July 14, 2016) to chat with local immigration advocates and groups about ways to improve the process.
Long processing times was one of the main concerns heard by Immigration Minister John McCallum and local MPs, but others worry about the quality of the government website and have a desire for even more immigrants than Canada currently allows each year.
“I think people are concerned about the processing time, the wait times, the website quality, all of these things which we are working to improve,” said McCallum to reporters following the closed-door roundtable discussion.
“Perhaps my single biggest concern is it takes somewhere on the order of two years for a husband and wife to be reunited. That is unacceptably high and we’re working to bring that down.”
“There’s a desire by some for lower skilled, there’s a desire from others for higher skilled, but the general view is we do need more.” Immigration Minister John McCallum, on the desire for more immigrants than the approximately 250,000 Canada permits each year.
McCallum has already conducted similar discussions in Atlantic Canada and was in Mississauga and Brampton earlier this week.
Thursday’s roundtable included representatives from local post-secondary institutes, the University of Guelph, the local YWCA, local school boards and the Muslim Society of Guelph, among others.
The meetings are part of the federal government’s month-long input period that started July 5 and runs to August 5.
The government is asking Canadians for their input to the future of immigration in this country, including:
• How many immigrants should Canada allow in 2017 and beyond?
• Does Canada have the right balance of immigrants?
• How can immigration play a role in supporting economic growth and innovation?
• What modernization techniques should Canada use for processing applications?
For the past decade or so, immigration rates to Canada have hovered around 250,000 per year, but McCallum said he’s looking to bring in more.
“There’s a desire by some for lower skilled, there’s a desire from others for higher skilled, but the general view is we do need more,” he said.
“I am probably the only immigration minister in the world whose major challenge is I can’t bring in refugees fast enough to satisfy the demands of generous Canadians who want to support them.”
Sara Sayyed of the Muslim Society of Guelph was part of the discussion and said it’s time for a review of immigration policies.
“Definitely it’s overdue, and it’s great the ministers are coming down to the communities to get a response and information from us,” she said. “We’ve never been asked ‘what do you need?’ and it’s great to be involved that closely.”
Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger, the minister of small business and tourism, said the consultation is important to “provide us with the feedback we need to make good decisions as the Government of Canada for how the system works for all Canadians.”
McCallum also said he wants to make it easier for international students and tenure-track professors to immigrate to Canada, and tackle what he called “stupid” rules in his department.
“One of the stupidest rules is that they don’t accept tenure-track professors under express entry because it’s not a permanent job, the person might not get tenure, but that is a stupid rule,” he said.
For more information or to provide input on the process, visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website, www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/consultations/nationaldiscussion.asp.
